PT10 Native - the installation nightmare

[bing81]

I'm not going to go through a blow by blow account of how I've wasted the last day and a half getting my new PT HD rig up and running.

I'm not going to comment that every single plugin manufacturer has a different way of handling authorisations, or downloads, or even keeping track of what you own.

I'm not even going to comment on the complete lack of accurate information as to a) what are the current versions of any given plugin and b) what actually works with what in the whole PT 10 TDM/RTAS/AAX dance. For example, for someone like me coming from a TDM system chock full of TDM plugins, it's not immediately apparent that I needed to be downloading TDM versions for my new Native (... which is NOT TDM) system.

Don't even start me on the hardware issues. Quite why Avid can't just say "put the card in slot 4" is beyond me. Trial-and-error installation anyone?

But I am going to bitch about one glaringly obvious snafu in all this, that cost me a goodly portion of yesterday.

When Avid know dam well that every box they ship to someone who buys PT 10 HD contains install disks for PT 9, why don't they set out somewhere, anywhere, a simple step-by-step guide as to how to get going with PT 10? For example, you would think - even though it's not actually spelt out anywhere - that you don't need to install 9 on your computer, that you can go straight to the 10 install. Fine. But ... while you don't need PT 9 on your computer to get PT10 working, you do need an authorisation for 9 on your ilok before you can get 10 working - the PT 10 download won't appear in your account until the 10 auth is on your ilok, but you needed to have 9 there first to avail yourself of the "free upgrade" code they sent you 15 minutes after you'd started this whole process.

Come Christmas, I think we should all chip in and buy the head honchos at Avid the Steve Jobs bio. It has to be simple. It has to be easy. It has to be functional. And, you have to do whatever you need to to achieve that even if it affects your own business. Sh*it like this happens because Avid are more concerned with their image than they are with their customers. They don't want to look like idiots for shipping Pro Tools 9 boxes when people think they're buying 10. Apart from anything else, it shows that they overestimated the versions of 9 they'd be selling. Perhaps it shows that their marketing department is under-performing. Or their business projections are off. Or that they're losing their grip on the market. Or anything that might have a negative impact on their share price and end-of-year bonuses. So rather than do something about the REAL problem (themselves), they shift it onto us, the end-user.

Avid - I know you're out there. And you suck.

[nst7]

I'm sorry you had so much trouble, but you didn't have to go through all that.

You don't have to have anything on your Ilok, and you don't have to have anything on your computer.

You register the serial number for the HD Native card in your Avid account. Then you register the activation code for the Protools software that comes in the box (a white or yellow card).

After doing those 2 things, an Ilok license for HD 10 will be sent to your Ilok for you to download to your Ilok.

Additionally, the installers for HD10 will appear in your Avid account, ready for you to download and install.

All this is a simple, automated process, including automated emails for each step.


Again, I'm sorry you had to go through that. I don't know if maybe someone explained things the wrong way, etc.

If you have any questions I'll be happy to help.

[bing81]

Originally Posted by nst7

I'm sorry you had so much trouble, but you didn't have to go through all that.

You don't have to have anything on your Ilok, and you don't have to have anything on your computer.

You register the serial number for the HD Native card in your Avid account. Then you register the activation code for the Protools software that comes in the box (a white or yellow card).

After doing those 2 things, an Ilok license for HD 10 will be sent to your Ilok for you to download to your Ilok.

Additionally, the installers for HD10 will appear in your Avid account, ready for you to download and install.

Not true. I did exactly that, and in that order. After doing both registrations, and using the upgrade code, 10 was NOT showing up in my Avid account, nor in my iLok. Eventually I called Support, who went away for 5 minutes and came back with "you need to download the 9 auth to your ilok first". I DID have to do all that.

But even if what you say is the case, where is the information you provided above presented? It's certainly not on the Quickstart guide (for example).

I stand by what I said. It's a complete farce. Avid knows what's going on with these "10" boxes that contain 9, and they've done absolutely nothing to provide purchasers with clear information as to their situation (e.g. "you will receive an email with an upgrade code") and the processes to follow. The only reason I eventually got it to work at all is through following tips and comments on Gearslutz and the DUC.

Why, for example, as someone who'd recently bought a Native card, didn't I receive an email telling me to download and use the Card Flasher? Because it's only after I did that (after reading about it on the DUC), that I managed to get past the -1167 error messages whenever 10 tried to boot.

FWIW, before I started all this, I did a complete system install on my Mac. Which took me all of two or three clicks.

It's a classic case with Avid of not being able to see the wood for the trees, of how processes come about over time which are perhaps logical from the inside, but not when you stand back and look at the end result. Problems are solved independently, and all those solutions are then stuck together sequentially, rather than looking at the big picture and finding an efficient, simple, global solution.

One big PIA.

[oceantracks]

Originally Posted by bing81

Not true. I did exactly that, and in that order. After doing both registrations, and using the upgrade code, 10 was NOT showing up in my Avid account, nor in my iLok. Eventually I called Support, who went away for 5 minutes and came back with "you need to download the 9 auth to your ilok first". I DID have to do all that.

But even if what you say is the case, where is the information you provided above presented? It's certainly not on the Quickstart guide (for example).

I stand by what I said. It's a complete farce. Avid knows what's going on with these "10" boxes that contain 9, and they've done absolutely nothing to provide purchasers with clear information as to their situation (e.g. "you will receive an email with an upgrade code") and the processes to follow. The only reason I eventually got it to work at all is through following tips and comments on Gearslutz and the DUC.

Why, for example, as someone who'd recently bought a Native card, didn't I receive an email telling me to download and use the Card Flasher? Because it's only after I did that (after reading about it on the DUC), that I managed to get past the -1167 error messages whenever 10 tried to boot.

FWIW, before I started all this, I did a complete system install on my Mac. Which took me all of two or three clicks.

It's a classic case with Avid of not being able to see the wood for the trees, of how processes come about over time which are perhaps logical from the inside, but not when you stand back and look at the end result. Problems are solved independently, and all those solutions are then stuck together sequentially, rather than looking at the big picture and finding an efficient, simple, global solution.

One big PIA.

At the very least your AVID dealer should have provided you with the proper info on how to get up and running.

Did you post your experience in the AVID forum?

TH